Infiltrator

Meng Shan was visibly stunned for a moment at the sight.

Once he came to his senses, he hurriedly tried to intervene, but it was already too late.

A flash of frustration crossed Meng Shan's eyes. Left with no choice, he raised his saber and charged the bald brute again, shouting back at Yuan Mei:

"I'll hold him off first. You two leave immediately."

Hearing this, Yuan Mei said nothing more. She promptly led the scholar away along the mountain path ahead.

"Trying to run? The Bloodbath Alliance's experts are nearby. Today, all of you will die here."

The bald brute's eyes blazed with fury. He paid no heed whatsoever to Meng Shan's obstruction. All he wanted now was to smash the person before him into pulp with the fishing rod in his hand!

Meanwhile, Li Musheng stood atop a branch in the forest, shading his eyes as he gazed at the fireworks not yet fully dispersed in the sky, then asked:

"Miss Cang, would you say we've botched this?"

The situation was already obvious. Unable to win, that bald brute had started calling for backup.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Bloodbath Alliance would soon encircle this entire forest. The road ahead would likely be even harder to traverse than before.

At his words, Cang Yinyue's delicate arched brows twitched involuntarily.

The scheme of driving wolves to devour tigers had been her idea, and she indeed bore much of the responsibility for how things had turned out.

Still, she would not concede defeat so easily. Shooting Li Musheng a glance, she said:

"Don't panic yet. At worst, this is all it comes to. If necessary, we'll force our way through."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted toward Meng Shan and the bald brute, who were still fighting.

"Besides, with them around, they can draw quite a bit of the Bloodbath Alliance's attention for us."

Li Musheng merely shrugged and said nothing more.

He was not at all surprised by Cang Yinyue's proud, stubborn temperament.

Not long after, seeing that the time was about right, Meng Shan gathered his true qi and swung his saber down with all his might.

The fierce blade light split the earth and shattered stone, driving the bald brute back. Meng Shan swiftly turned and fled down the mountain path.

Naturally, the bald brute had no intention of letting him go. Gripping his fishing rod in fury, he continued the pursuit!

Only after both men had left did Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng ride their mule-horses out of the forest and continue along the mountain road.

They traveled for some distance without incident and encountered no one blocking their way.

However, Cang Yinyue suddenly spoke softly:

"I still overlooked something. The Bloodbath Alliance is not made up of fools. What I could think of, they might not have failed to think of as well."

She had miscalculated. To guard against incursions from hostile forces, the Bloodbath Alliance would certainly not overlook any route leading into their territory.

And as the local tyrants of the area, the Bloodbath Alliance naturally knew of such hidden mountain paths.

Thus, under Chongzhou's current special circumstances, the road that seemed safest actually concealed the greatest danger.

"Miss Cang, there's no need to blame yourself. Everything must be weighed against something else. Our situation is far better than those three unlucky fellows'."

Seated on his mule-horse, Li Musheng stroked his chin and smiled.

"Those three are being hunted by the Bloodbath Alliance as they flee for their lives. How could they possibly travel as leisurely as we are, riding along at ease?"

Cang Yinyue's expression stirred slightly. Seeing Li Musheng's unhurried manner, she secretly marveled at how big-hearted he was.

Little did he know that this was merely the calm before the storm. Given the Bloodbath Alliance's influence in this region's martial world, it was impossible for Meng Shan and the other two to escape.

And next, she and Li Musheng likely would not be able to avoid it either. They would very likely face the same situation Meng Shan's group was facing now.

As she was thinking this, Cang Yinyue's expression suddenly changed, and she looked ahead.

Speak of the devil, and he appeared. A group of figures suddenly emerged on the mountain path ahead, blocking the two of them.

Looking closely, quite a few bloodstains remained on the path ahead. Several corpses wearing red headscarves lay amid the fallen shrubs to one side.

The Bloodbath Alliance's followers all habitually wrapped red scarves around their heads. These men had likely been killed by Meng Shan's group while fleeing through here.

"Who are you?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man in a gray robe, holding a pair of war hammers.

His gaze was wary and dangerous, and he radiated intense killing intent toward Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue.

As he spoke, a group of saber-wielding subordinates around them slowly closed in on the pair.

Cang Yinyue flipped a command token into her hand and said coldly:

"I am a Silver Medal Head Catcher of the Imperial Secret Police, ordered to return to Jing Province on official business and passing through this place. Why are you blocking the road?"

At these words, Li Musheng turned his head, surprise appearing on his face.

Wasn't this girl from the Hidden Spy Bureau? How had she become one of the Imperial Secret Police now?

His gaze fell upon the command token in Cang Yinyue's hand. It really did seem to be a Head Catcher's token from the Imperial Secret Police.

So when she went out, this girl simply gave herself whatever identity she pleased?

Cang Yinyue seemed to sense Li Musheng's gaze. Quietly, she used true qi to form a thread and transmit her voice directly into his ear, explaining:

"The Hidden Spy Bureau's identity cannot be shown openly. Whenever I need to use an official identity, I generally pass myself off as someone from the Imperial Secret Police."

"If the Bloodbath Alliance recognizes this Imperial Secret Police token, perhaps we won't need to fight later."

Li Musheng nodded almost imperceptibly.

But at that moment, after looking at the token in Cang Yinyue's hand, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes instead.

"A few days ago, infiltrators from the Yin Mountain Sect used a provincial Imperial Secret Police warrant as a pretext to investigate a case, then took the chance to launch a surprise attack and assassinate one of our alliance's elders."

"What I hate most right now are people from the Imperial Secret Police. You spies are trying to use the same old trick again, but it won't work on me."

With that, he gave his subordinates a look, signaling them to continue forward.

"Seize these two first. If they dare resist, cut them down on the spot!"

Li Musheng raised a brow and turned to Cang Yinyue.

"This man clearly hasn't read much. He has no logic at all. Someone impersonated the Imperial Secret Police to kill people—what does that have to do with the Imperial Secret Police?

"He might as well honestly say he doesn't like the look of us and wants to kill us. He's not honest at all."

Cang Yinyue's face remained cold as she replied indifferently:

"I only brought out this token to try my luck. The court's orders are useful only against ordinary commoners. To these martial folk, they are worth less than the blades and swords in their hands."

The moment her words fell, she suddenly transformed into a shadow and drifted forward.

The saber-wielding men closing in cried out in alarm. The shadow swept over their heads like a gale and reached the middle-aged man in the blink of an eye.

The middle-aged man's pupils abruptly shrank. Once he reacted, true qi exploded from within him as he raised both war hammers and smashed them forward with all his strength.

In an instant, the air erupted with thunderous detonations, whipping up a fierce whirlwind that seemed poised to tear that dark figure to pieces.